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TIL a pigeon named Cher Ami became a war hero in WWI by flying 25 miles to deliver a life-saving message, despite being shot, blinded in one eye, and flying with one leg barely attached she saved 194 soldiers and was awarded a medal, buried with honors, and now rests in the Smithsonian.

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awlRb TIL that songwriter Robert Sherman was struggling to write a catchy song for Julie Andrews to sing in Mary Poppins. When Robert's son received the polio inoculation, and he discovered the medicine was put on a sugar cube, he was inspired to write "A Spoonful of Sugar Helps the Medicine Go Down."
kOXK7 TIL Mungo Jerry's In The Summer Time was the first song to feature beatboxing and to make it to number one on the charts.
E1xDW TIL The grizzly bear is the California state animal, but the grizzly bear is extinct in California
VBgb0 TIL The bacteria that cause leprosy are obligate intracellular parasites and therefore can't be cultured in vitro
j69Nj TIL that the US has a national cycling route network, the United States Bicycle Route System. It consists of interstate long-distance cycling routes with off-road paths, bicycle lanes, and low-traffic roads.